Crossing The Pond: Fiskur + Other Creatures + Silverbacks

Much great music is made on the other side of the Atlantic. Here your hostess indulges her love of all things Brit (and Eire) to bring you some songs you should be listening to from the British Isles.

Straight outta Glasgow comes Fiskur, a two-piece lightning strike made by Frightened Rabbit's Andy Monaghan and singer-songwriter Ross Clark. Clark's voice has a clarity and directness, he sings with purpose. The noise that carries Clark's vocals is all over the place, in the best possible way, giving their songs an almost impetuous underlying sense of restless impatience. Their partnership sounds like a perfect fit to me, and I hope they'll be putting out even more excellent collaborations like "I Become Silver" and "Too Slow, Too Far" in the very near future.





There's a sweetness to Other Creatures in their little gem "Birthal." The Dublin trio can sound sweet as a candy heart when they embrace a certain vintage pop sensibility, while also getting a bit spiky with the guitar here and there to keep one on ones toes. Quite a treat, indeed.



Dublin's Silverbacks doesn't beat around the bush, and certainly doesn't whisper sweet nothings. If "Just For a Better View" is any indication, the band plies a nervy, tense racket, reminiscent of Parquet Courts but with their slanted enchantment. This is a song, and a band, you'll want to get to know.

[posted 1.7.18]